System and method for identifying underutilized storage capacity

Abstract

Described herein is a system and method for detecting underutilized capacity within a storage system environment. The technique comprises collecting performance data of various storage objects within a storage system environment for various performance measures at designated time intervals. The collected performance data may be formatted and stored to a database. One or more parameters may be received specifying at least one performance measure, at least one threshold value, and/or at least one time period. The performance data for target storage objects may be analyzed according to the received parameters to determine any underutilized storage objects. A report may be generated according to the parameters listing the storage objects and address locations of any underutilized storage objects. The report may comprise various information corresponding to the underutilized storage object, such as the business units, tiers, data centers, and levels of service they are associated with.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A computer-implemented method for identifying underutilized storage objects of a storage system, the method comprising:
 providing an analysis engine for performing: 
 collecting performance data for first and second performance measures for each storage object, the performance data comprising a plurality of values for the first and second performance measures; 
 receiving parameters comprising a time period, a first weight for the first performance measure, a second weight for the second performance measure, and a threshold value; 
 for each storage object, using the performance data to produce a first standardized value for the first performance measure by determining a first representative value for the first performance measure during the time period and normalizing the first representative value; 
 for each storage object, using the performance data to produce a second standardized value for the second performance measure by determining a second representative value for the second performance measure during the time period and normalizing second the representative value; 
 for each storage object, determining an overall standardized value based on the first weight, first standardized value, second weight, and second standardized value; and 
 for each storage object, determining whether the storage object is underutilized based on the overall standardized value and the threshold value. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the overall standardized value is determined using the equation:
   Overall_Standardized_Value=(FirstWeight*First_Standardized_Value)+(SecondWeight*Second_Standardized_Value). 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein a performance measure comprises Throughput, Response Time, or Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS). 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the performance data for each performance measure comprises a plurality of values for the performance measure for the time period; and 
 the representative value for each performance measure comprises an average or mean of the plurality of values for the time period. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second standardized values are determined using a standardized scale based on a normal range of values for the first and second performance measures. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first weight indicates a level of correlation between the first performance measure and storage utilization and the second weight indicates a level of correlation between the second performance measure and storage utilization. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the storage object comprises a storage array, a volume, a logical unit, or storage device. 
     
     
       8. A system for identifying underutilized storage objects of a storage system, the system comprising:
 an analysis engine configured for:
 collecting performance data for first and second performance measures for each storage object, the performance data comprising a plurality of values for the first and second performance measures; 
 receiving parameters comprising a time period, a first weight for the first performance measure, a second weight for the second performance measure, and a threshold value; 
 for each storage object, using the performance data to produce a first standardized value for the first performance measure by determining a first representative value for the first performance measure during the time period and normalizing the first representative value; 
 for each storage object, using the performance data to produce a second standardized value for the second performance measure by determining a second representative value for the second performance measure during the time period and normalizing second the representative value; 
 for each storage object, determining an overall standardized value based on the first weight, first standardized value, second weight, and second standardized value; and 
 for each storage object, determining whether the storage object is underutilized based on the overall standardized value and the threshold value. 
 
 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the overall standardized value is determined using the equation:
   Overall_Standardized_Value=(FirstWeight*First_Standardized_Value)+(SecondWeight*Second_Standardized_Value). 
 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 8 , wherein a performance measure comprises Throughput, Response Time, or Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS). 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the performance data for each performance measure comprises a plurality of values for the performance measure for the time period; and 
 the representative value for each performance measure comprises an average or mean of the plurality of values for the time period. 
 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the first and second standardized values are determined using a standardized scale based on a normal range of values for the first and second performance measures. 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the first weight indicates a level of correlation between the first performance measure and storage utilization and the second weight indicates a level of correlation between the second performance measure and storage utilization. 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the storage object comprises a storage array, a volume, a logical unit, or storage device. 
     
     
       15. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon when executed by a processor, identify underutilized storage objects of a storage system, the non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions for:
 collecting performance data for first and second performance measures for each storage object, the performance data comprising a plurality of values for the first and second performance measures; 
 receiving parameters comprising a time period, a first weight for the first performance measure, a second weight for the second performance measure, and a threshold value; 
 for each storage object, using the performance data to produce a first standardized value for the first performance measure by determining a first representative value for the first performance measure during the time period and normalizing the first representative value; 
 for each storage object, using the performance data to produce a second standardized value for the second performance measure by determining a second representative value for the second performance measure during the time period and normalizing second the representative value; 
 for each storage object, determining an overall standardized value based on the first weight, first standardized value, second weight, and second standardized value; and 
 for each storage object, determining whether the storage object is underutilized based on the overall standardized value and the threshold value. 
 
     
     
       16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the overall standardized value is determined using the equation:
   Overall_Standardized_Value=(FirstWeight*First_Standardized_Value)+(SecondWeight*Second_Standardized_Value). 
 
     
     
       17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein a performance measure comprises Throughput, Response Time, or Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS). 
     
     
       18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the performance data for each performance measure comprises a plurality of values for the performance measure for the time period; and 
 the representative value for each performance measure comprises an average or mean of the plurality of values for the time period. 
 
     
     
       19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the first and second standardized values are determined using a standardized scale based on a normal range of values for the first and second performance measures. 
     
     
       20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the first weight indicates a level of correlation between the first performance measure and storage utilization and the second weight indicates a level of correlation between the second performance measure and storage utilization. 
     
     
       21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the storage object comprises a storage array, a volume, a logical unit, or storage device.